Home / KGet : Usability report

Personnaly, I think using KGet is not as easy as it should.
And it miss few features to be pleasant.

Before to begin : I have french version of KDE, so I've retranslated back to english the strings :-)
Secund note : I've taken a totaly new to KGet user profile (that quite I am) and wrote all questions this user can ask.
I alwayse think what to write to describ buttons/features by asking me all questions (typically "what", "for what", "why", "when"...). I think as this, all user questions will be OK and he will can choose to use the feature or not just by read the name/label.

• The actual toolbar (Usability errors)
• Proposed modified main toolbar
• Add download : reduce steps
• What options I usually want

The actual toolbar (Usability errors)

• [Auto-resume] What's this "auto" ? Will it be continued now or triggered later ? If so, when ?
  And if download is at 0%, "Begin", "Download" or "Begin download" would be better... If possible, "Restart download (resume not assumed)" when needed.
• [Pause]. No comment. Just that in players, we can reclick this button to continue to play. But it isn't needed. Ho yes : if resuming is not supported, the label must be "Stop", and then the icon a stop icon to the user be careful.
• [Remove]. But remove what ? The download from the queue, the downloaded file on the disk, or the two ? Not obvious.
  This must be renamed to "Remove..." or "Remove download from list..." and then show a dialog with :
  

  Would you really want to remove this download from the download files ?
  Download already has begined
  [Remove download from list] [Remove downloaded file] [Cancel]

  The trash can icon do not help : it's the same icon than the "move to trash" konqueror feature => user can think it's will affect the file and not the download data
• [Continue] : Useful ??? Is it the same as "Auto-resume" ? Quite strange duplicate feature. But if there is here it's another feature...
  But what ? "Queue" and "stack" words are not obvious to distinguish.
  Which means the entire list of downloads ? Which means the currently in download files ? Which means the currently "in wait state" files ?
  I propose to have "list" for all the list, "queue" for queued downloads (paused, to resume later). And that's all.

• [Put in wait stack] : A wait stack, for me, purpose to wait... download *later* ! It' strange behaviour to be, third time, the same as "Auto-resume" (resume as soon as possible, if I understand) !!! Ho ! If I click, I switch between the three options... Let's discover them...
• [Chronometer] : Ho cool I will be able to download it in few defined minutes / hours. Cool because I currently have an active download. I click. What ? No effet : no dialog appears to ask me when I want to download it. What's this ?
• [In wait] : ho ! cool duplicate information with the pause feature

• [Show logs window] : Useless for me. Just : between each lines of log there is an empty line (please use break line instead of new paragraph).
  Is it a bug ?
• [Paste] : No problem. It can also be used as a [New] button (logic, but not expected at first)

• [Expert mode] : Waou ! What's an explicit button :-) First, I don't like modes, but after all... And what is this misterious "expert" mode ?
  After Shift+F1, it appears it's *just* to disable confirmation dialogs.
  Waoh ! What's a so hidden expert feature :-) Would it be more explicite to name it "Do not show confirmation dialogs" ?
• [Last folder mode] : No more explicit ! Is "Last folder" only act on new downloads or on all ?????? If yes it must be moved as a checkbox into the "Past/Add download" window !!!
  Checkbox that is checked if it was checked the last time : NO NEED FOR A MODE.
• [Auto-disconnect mode] : Bof. When ? When all downloads are complete, I suppose. OK (but see below). I don't know any downloaders that do it a "mode"
• [Auto-shutdown mode] : Idem (shutdown compter)
• [Offline mode] : Hein ? It's a *downloader* ? What can we care of an offline mode ? OK : web-browsers have this mode to allow view pages when non connected. But when files are downloaded, they continue to be readable, reassure me ! :-)
• [Auto-paste mode] : Mouais... Perhapse useful. Now : as said, I don't like modes (and it's forbidden by usability guides).
  Altough, all those tools are "options", and not "modes" !
  To do them more obvious they are options, I propose to split the toolbar into two : one for "downloads", and one for "quick options changing" !

• [Drop on the target] : If you want... As writen it could implie "Hey : by clicking that a... thing will be droped to the target. But what targer, and what will be dropped ?".
• [What's this ?] : What's this button has to do in a toolbar ? During all this write I've used Shift+F1 and I now learn that button exist !! Musn't it be in the title bar of the window ???

Proposed modified main toolbar

• [New download...]
• [Paste URL...]

• [Begin] [Resume] [Restart (resuming not supported)]
• [Pause] [Stop (resuming not supported)]
• [Suspend]
• [Cancel download] [Remove from list]

• [Automatically paste URLs]
• [Download new files in the last folder]
• [Disconnect when all downloads will be done]
• [Shutdown computer when all downloads will be done]
• [Show confirmation dialogs]

• [Show target to drop URLs]
• [Show logs window]

I've added "..." on paste and new because it's implie a dialog.
I've added "New download...".

I've regrouped the only three download control + one. Basically, we want to download all files we add to the queue, because we want to download all, files must be automatically deownloaded without operation : when a download finish, another must be started. They are downloaded with "Play". But we want to have a download number limit and download files from top to bottom (priority), so they are currently paused. They will be re-downloaded as soons as a download will finish (or Play is clicked, and priority is higher than other current downloads). It's what expected : KGet is a downloader and we don't have to explicitly clic "Start/Continue" to download.
But for some files, we don't want to continue download : that is the reason of the "Suspend". It replace the "offline mode" : select all files and then "suspend" to have the same behaviour. The "Remove" has been replaced by "Cancel download" if download in at 0% or < 100% : it's quite explicit that download will be deleted AND also the file. If download is at 100%, name it "Remove from list". Here also it's obvious and nice usable.

Each download should have an icon if it's state :

• Connecting (animation as now) : clicked begin/continue/resume and KGet try to continue/connect to the server
• Downloading (animation as now) : clicked begin/continue/resume and KGet curently download it
• Waiting : clicked begin/continue/resume but the download number limit is already attempted : will be downloaded after, according to priority
• Paused : cliqued pause : download in last (when all waiting files will be done)
• Suspended : wait an explicit "Continue/Start" to download it

Those states replace [Put in wait stack], [Chronometer] and [In wait].
Because [Resume], [Pause]... can do that : make feature doublons.

I think thins wording is very explicit and usable.
If you have remarqs, feel free to correct.

Add download : reduce steps

Another issue is the new download process that need two dialogs to accept. It's ennoying : Because of the configurables folders (by extensions...) their is no particullary need to change folder on past/add.
And because we paste URLs, there is most time no need to edit it. I propose to have a new add/paste dialog :

 ________________________________________________________________
| URL to download   : [ http://www.kde.org/something.tbz ]       |
| Where to download : [ file:/home/me/[something.tbz]    ] [...] |
|                     [ Use last folder ]                        |
 ________________________________________________________________

Then, when paste, the focus must be placed on the secund field, with "[something.tbz]" selected to be able to personnalize only the name of the downloaded file (as now : the most often control a user expect).
If dialog is called with "New", then place focus on URL, of course. The [ Use last folder ] will recall the last folder.

To solve the problem of "New download" by using the "Paste" feature, I propose to add an adress bar, like in Konqueror. After all it's consistent.

The "Open a download" and "Paste a download" texts are strange. Or it's not a use in french. I usually don't say "Open a download". Perhapse rewording it as "Open an URL to download" and "Paste an URL to download", isn't it ?

The "Drop to target" appears in two menus : View and Options. Quite unhabitual to have two options in two different places.

What options I usually want

• Define an order for files : reorder files by d'n'd ; Not only set on top or bottom
• And perhapse a priority : a new column in the list could show 3 starts, click could change -> 4 starts -> 5 -> 1 -> 2 -> 3...>
• When a download is done, automatically download the next(s) file [[This perhapse already doable with the chronometer, chronometer that I have discovered by doing this review]]
• If a link is down, download another file in the queue (if there is one in the queue)
• On KDE/KGet start, continue active downloads / continue queue
• System tray icon could show the status (in download or sleep, which percent of all files / current file)
• Use KPassivePopups on download end (as Apollon do)
• Take a certain percent of bandwidth, alwyase or TEMPORARY in one click (another "mode")

Waoo ! It's a long comment :-/
But I wanted to do it for some time.

Have been posted to KDE-bugs under Bug 79519: KGet usability report TODO.

New design

I've joined KGet 2 working team to help for the redesign of KGet.
Here is a Kolourpaint made mockup of what I could see for the main window :

Here are explanations :

The toolbar :

• [New][Paste] : normal ! I don't know why I want to split it into two... perhapse stupid idea.
• [Play][Pause][stop] : See my proposal to change texts when needed (add " (resuming not supported)", change Pause to Stop in this context...)
• [Change priority dropdown] [Move one line up] [Move one line down]
• [Remove all finished downlaods from list]
• [Show log window] [Show target]

After reflexions (see below), perhapse the log window should be a KMDI panel : would be better (or a window if user do not want the KMDI interface).

Then, the list :

• As you see I've tryed to have icons the most I can :
  • Priority show an arrow that is colored in function of the priority and then the number
  • Status show an icon and then a text
  • Progress show a "funny" progress bar
  • Speed (I love to have it in more then the "Downloading" status because... it show the speed :-) ) show a Kppp like graph !! And then the actual speed
  • Destination show the folder icon.
  • Source could also have the site favicon OR the type/protocol icon (for example a BitTorent / Kazaa / kde-look_favicon / ftp icons is good after reflexion).
• For example we can configure KGet to download mp3/ogg files to ~/Music, videos to ~/Videos, .tar.* to ~/Downloads.
  I LOVE icons for all those folders. Have the icon with the folder is very usefull. As well as have "~/Foo" insteid of the overbooked and non informative "/home/seb/Foo" (or "/home/public/info1/grp2.1/slaout/foo" at university ;-) ).
  OF COURSE, we can have an option to disable all those graphics and have just text values.
• The 6 columns are esential for me (just my opinion).
  OF COURSE, the user can choose the columns he want (right click the header and then check/uncheck them). But sometimes we can want all informations, so the "Details" pannel is usefull.
  After reflexion, it could be a KMDI panel (as well as log panel, and/or a "Global network status/graphs" one).

With this draw, I haven't took in acount the "modes" (quickly changeable options), nor a button to pass to a "limited bandwidth mode" (looking at this, downloader4x (d4x) have three options :

• green : unlimited bandwidth
• orange : customized limited bandwidth
• red : another more limited bandwidth
• (we could also perhapse add a 4° option to map the actual KGet1 "offline mode" : use no bandwidth) and have it to a dropdown toolbutton.